1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a door lock apparatus, in particular relates to a vehicle door lock apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional vehicle door lock apparatus is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 62(1987)-25684 and No. 2(1990)-30874. The vehicle door lock apparatus disclosed in the former comprises a locking lever which permits a latch mechanism to be operated and prevents the latch mechanism from being operated. The vehicle door lock apparatus further comprises detecting means which detects a condition of the locking lever. The locking lever is rotatably supported on a housing storing the latch mechanism through a pivotal shaft. Further, the detecting means is fixed on the housing. A detecting member of the detecting means, which is a different member from the pivotal shaft, is fit into a longitudinal slot of the locking lever so as to be connected with the locking lever.
On the other hand, the vehicle door lock apparatus disclosed in the latter comprises a locking lever which permits a latch mechanism to be operated and prevents the latch mechanism from being operated and an actuator which drives the locking lever. The vehicle door lock apparatus further comprises detecting means detecting a condition of the locking lever. The locking lever is rotatably supported on a housing storing the actuator through an output shaft of the actuator. Further, the detecting means is fixed on the housing, and a detecting member of the detecting means, which is a different member from the output shaft, is fitted into a longitudinal slot of the locking lever so as to be connected with the locking lever. Further, a wiring which is used for supplying an electric power to the actuator is connected with a controller, and other wiring which is used for transmitting a signal from the detecting means is connected with a controller.
However in accordance with the prior arts, since the detecting member of the detecting means is a different member from the pivotal shaft supporting the locking lever, the vehicle door lock apparatuses contain an increased number of parts and are difficult to be assembled. Further, the detecting means can not strictly detect the condition of the locking lever because of the variation of the location of the members which are assembled.
Especially, in accordance with the vehicle door lock apparatus disclosed in the latter, because the wiring which is used for supplying the electric power to the actuator is a different part from other wiring which is used for transmitting the signal from the detecting means, it is too complex to wire the wirings.